Summer Love
by MilitaryWife
Summary: Emma is finished Grade 9 and looking forward to a drama free summer break. She has plans to spend her days tanning with Manny and hanging out with Chris. What will happen when her exboyfriend offers to fix her dad's car during summer break?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or any of it's characters. I write for my own enjoyment and for the others out there who are as addicted to fanfiction as I am. No copywright enfringement intended.**

**Authors Note: The start of my third Degrassi story!!!! I hope you all enjoy. I know I have read a couple of stories based on Emma's summer between Grade 9 and 10 in the past and just wanted everyone to know that I am not in anyway trying to copy those stories. I've always wondered what happened that summer and thought I'd let my imagination run with it. **

The sun peaked through the basement window to Emma's bedroom. She rolled over in her bed deciding to lay there for a little while longer. It was finally summer break and she could stay in bed as long as she wanted. No more getting up early for school. She looked forward to the next 2 months being filled with lazy days laying out in the sun with Manny, shopping trips to the mall and lunch dates at the Dot with Chris.

'CHRIS!' She thought. She had almost forgotten about their very first summer lunch date planned for today. She looked at the alarm clock which read 10:00am. She didn't have to meet him until noon. She had plenty of time to shower, pick out the perfect sundress and walk to the Dot to meet him. She was excited to spend the summer hanging out with him. They hadn't had that much time to spend together since they started their relationship. Emma was always busy with extra curricular activities at school and Chris was always busy helping his cousin spinning on the weekends. This summer would be a chance for their relationship to grow without any distractions. There would be no Sean and his gang stealing things to distract her. She felt she was really finally ready to move on.

"Emma are you awake down there?" she heard her mom call from upstairs.

"Yes mom. I'll be upstairs in a couple of minutes" she replied as she climbed out of bed and put her pink fuzzy slippers on. She threw her housecoat on over her night dress and headed up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Good morning family." Emma greeted everyone with a smile. Snake was washing the dishes and her mom was getting something out of the fridge. Jack was sitting contently in his high chair eating Cheerios.

"Can I make you anything for breakfast Emma?" her mom asked as she placed some fresh fruit on the counter. "Are you hungry?"

"I'll probably just have some fruit. I have a date at the Dot with Chris at noon for lunch." Emma said. Emma poured herself a glass of water and sat down at the table.

"Emma." Snake said abandoning the dishes and sitting down across from her at the table. "We wanted to go over the summer schedule with you this morning." Her mom passed her a plate of fruit and sat down on the other side of her. Emma hoped she wouldn't be stuck baby-sitting to many days. "Your mother and I talked about it and decided that we won't need you to baby-sit on a regular basis this summer. You looked after Jack a lot this past year when I got sick so we thought we'd give you a break this summer. Jack will be going to daycare when your mother and I are both working. Does that sound okay to you?"

Emma was beaming. She was happy to have a summer of freedom and not a lot of responsibility. "Sounds great." she said excitedly. It all seemed too good to be true. She was on cloud nine thinking of all the fun she would have when her mom brought her back down to reality. "There's one more thing Emma." her mom said cautiously. "Snake has been having a lot of problems with his car lately. He's taken it to the shop a couple of times to get it checked out and there is a lot of work that needs to be done on it. We really can't afford to fix everything that needs be fixed on it if we have to take it to a shop and pay for the parts plus all of the labour."

Emma looked at her mom quizzically. "I know the car has been acting up mom but I just don't understand what that has to do with me."

"We had an offer from someone that is handy with cars to work on it this summer for free. He'll be here in the driveway working on it every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon for pretty much the whole summer." Spike said.

"Well that's awful nice of someone to work on the car for free." Emma said as she pondered the situation. Who would give up 3 afternoons a week for their entire summer for free to work on someone else's car? The only reason someone would do that is if they owed Snake something. And then she clued in. Her smile faded as her blood started to boil. "Sean?" she asked hoping the answer would be no but knowing it would be yes.

"Yes." Snake answered. "Sean will be working on the car this summer."

"Mom! Snake! No! Sean can't be here. I can't have him around me this summer. I'm with Chris now and I was looking forward to a Sean-free summer."

"I'm sorry Emma." her mom said while rubbing Emma's back. "We need the car fixed and he offered so we decided to take him up on it. He's only going to be here 3 days a week and you won't be looking after Jack so if you don't want to be around him make alternate plans. Manny and Chris are welcome over anytime you want and your free to go hang out with them whenever you want. I know this upsetting but you shouldn't let this bother you."

Emma sighed. Her mom had a point. She was pretty much over Sean anyway and maybe this is just what she needed to prove to herself that she was. She wasn't going to let Sean ruin her summer.

**Don't forget...read and review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors notes: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. The second chapter was fun to write and has a bit of drama involved. I hope you enjoy :) Happy reading!**

After her chat with her parents Emma headed back to her bedroom to get ready for lunch date with Chris. She browsed through her clothes making sure she found the perfect outfit. She finally settled on a baby blue sun dress. It was a little shorter and a little more revealing then her usual clothing but decided to wear it anyway. This was her summer and she wanted to look nice for Chris. Correction, she wanted to look hot for Chris.

Emma curled her hair and pinned some of it back. She applied her make up a little heavier than normal. This was part of the new Emma. She wanted to put herself out there a little bit more when it came to her looks. She finished her outfit by putting on her strapless sandals and headed upstairs and out the door to meet Chris at the Dot.

Emma opened the door to the Dot and spotted Chris immediately in the back corner sipping on a chocolate milk shake. She made her way over to him. "Do you have an extra straw…." she said smiling seductively "…so that maybe we could share?" She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and then sat down across from him.

"Well hello Miss Emma." Chris said as he put the other straw in the milk shake and gently slid it over to her so she could have a sip. "You look nice today."

"Nice wasn't the look I was going for, but thanks anyway." she said trying to keep up her confidence. Spinner arrived at their table and took their order. "So what should we do this summer? Road trip? Or I found out about this cool place where you can buy spinning equipment for cheap downtown. I thought maybe you could teach me a thing or too."

"We can talk about our plans for summer later." Chris said hesitantly. "How about you tell me how your day has been so far?"

"You know the usual start to the first day of summer break. I slept in, had some breakfast with the family and am having a lunch date with my awesome boyfriend. Oh, and did I mention that he's hot too?"

"Awesome and hot? Sounds like you got yourself a pretty great boyfriend to me. So you are probably going to be busy babysitting this summer and hanging out with Manny?"

"Actually no babysitting. Mom and Snake talked to me this morning and told me they decided to put Jack in daycare for the summer. Oh and Sean will be over 3 afternoons a week fixing Snake's car." Emma said the last part with a frown. She eyed Chris expecting him to get upset about this.

"Sean fixing Snake's car. Well that's interesting. He finally admitted to stealing the laptop?"

"Appears so. This is his way of paying him back."

Chris shrugged. "Sounds like he's doing the right thing for once. Can't get mad at a guy for that."

"So your okay with Sean being at my house? I mean he's my ex-boyfriend. I thought you'd be upset about this."

"Ummm…" Chris hesitated once again. "We're finished eating. Let's get going. I have an appointment this afternoon. Let me walk you home."

Bewildered Emma stood up, grabbed her purse and headed to the door hand in hand with Chris. She noticed he was acting a little bit off today. She expected him to be upset or at least a little bit jealous when she told him that Sean would be around her house almost the entire summer. Strangely he had just shrugged and chalked up Sean's confession of the stolen laptop to him doing the right thing.

As they rounded the corner and were only about 100 feet away from her house Emma decided the break the awkward silence that had hovered over their entire walk home. "What do you want to do this summer? We could check out that store that sells spinning equipment tomorrow and you could start giving me some lessons."

Chris stopped her and turned her around so she was facing him. "Listen Emma. I think we need to talk."

Emma's heart stopped for a second. She knew the look in his eyes but prayed that he wouldn't do what she thought he was going to do. "Okay. You've got my attention." she replied.

"Last week I ran into my ex-girlfriend Miranda and we got to talking and one thing lead to another and well we sort of…."

"Sort of what?"

"Umm….sort of…hooked up." Chris mumbled under his breath.

"You what???????? You hooked up with your ex-girlfriend!!!" Emma yelled. "Why in the world would you do a stupid thing like that?"

"It just kind of happened you know. I didn't plan it. I'm sorry Emma. It didn't mean anything."

"It didn't mean anything? Well that makes it all better then." Emma said sarcastically.

Sean dropped one of the tools he had been using to work on Mr. Simpson's car and as he bent down to pick it up he noticed the commotion going on at the end of the street. He saw a girl in a short blue sundress arguing with some guy. 'Man she's hot' he thought to himself as he shook his head and went back to working on the car. He tried to get back to work on the car but was interrupted again by the couple arguing at the end of the street.

"Can't you just forgive me for this one mistake?" Chris pleaded.

"Forgive you? You want me to forgive you for hooking up with your ex-girlfriend?"

"Please Emma. I care about you."

"Obviously you don't."

"Let's just talk about this Emma."

"There's nothing to talk about. We're THROUGH!" she screamed at him and turned around and walked towards her house. Chris attempted to follow her but decided it was a better idea just to let her cool down.

Emma stormed up her driveway almost tripping over Sean as he rolled out from underneath Simpson's car. He just stared at her for a moment as he noticed her blue sundress and realizing that she was the girl at the end of the street who had just had the heated argument with her boyfriend.

"What are you looking at?" she huffed as she continued walking past Sean and headed to the front door opening it. "Show's over!" she yelled and then proceeded to slam the door behind her. She ran downstairs to her bedroom and fell on the bed sobbing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors notes: Degrassi Season 7 starts on CTV in January 2008 for all you Canadian Fans out there :) I believe they've already showed the first 7 episodes in the U.S. What would life be without Degrassi? It wouldn't be cool that's for sure...haha. Enjoy the chapter :)**

Sean continued to work on Snake's car trying to forget about the scene he had just witnessed. He had never seen Emma so mad. In the whole time they had dated he had seen her angry on occasion but had never heard her scream that loud before. He had overheard Chris's confession about cheating on her. He felt sorry for her and hated to see her upset. 'Give your head a shake man' he said to himself. Why was he wasting his time worrying about her?

He was just about to crank up his MP3 player when he heard it. He heard the sobs coming from her basement bedroom window. They were barely audible at first. But as the minutes passed they got louder and louder. It was almost like you could hear her heart breaking.

Sean couldn't stand it much longer. The jerk inside him wanted to just crank up his MP3 player and forget about her crying. The good guy inside him wanted to climb in that bedroom window and console her. The good guy wanted to hold her, promise her that everything would be okay and then go find Chris and beat him to a pulp. He knew he head no right to climb in that window and console her. Besides he was with Ellie and that would just complicate things. He couldn't continue to let her cry though so he did the only thing he could think of.

He walked to the end of the driveway so he would be out of earshot of Emma's bedroom and pulled out his cell phone. If he could hear her crying then that meant the window was open and she would hear anything he did outside. He searched his phonebook contacts and stopped when he landed on "Manny Santos". He pressed send praying she would pick up.

"Hello?" Manny answered after the third ring.

"Hi Manny."

"Who's this?"

"It's Sean."

"Oh hi Sean. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Listen, I need you to call Emma."

"Ok sure. But why?"

"Something's wrong with her and I think she needs a friend right now."

"And how would you know that something's wrong with her? What did you do to her?"

Sean didn't want to go in to the details. He knew Emma would spill everything Chris had done and said as soon as Manny called her anyway. It angered him that Manny thought it would be him that had done something to make her cry but he knew after the way he had acted the past few months he deserved that comment.

"I didn't do anything many. Just tell me you'll call her….ok?"

"Ok."

"And Manny?"

"Yeah Sean?"

"Please don't tell her I'm the one that called you."

"Alright then. Bye."

Sean tucked his cell phone back in his pocket and headed back towards Snake's car. He got back on trolly and rolled back underneath the car. He laid there completely still straining his ears for a moment to listen for any noises coming from Emma's bedroom window. He couldn't seem to hear anything. A minute later he heard her cell phone ring and her answer it.

"Manny?" he heard her say when she picked up the phone and then heard her burst in to tears again. He heard her end the conversation quickly by saying "Okay, I'll see you in few minutes." Sean felt better knowing that Manny was on her way over to console Emma. He figured he'd take that as his cue to leave for the day.

As he walked home he thought about the summer ahead of him. He was going to be spending a lot of time at the Simpson-Nelson household this summer fixing the car. He figured it'd be worth a shot to see if Emma would like to be friends again. He had to come up with some excuse to talk to her by the time he returned to her house Wednesday afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors notes: Thanks for the reviews everyone!!! I really really appreciate it!**

"Emma?" Snake hollered from the kitchen to Emma in her basement bedroom.

"Yeah dad?" she hollered back up laying in bed. It was 9:00am and she had been awake for about an hour just laying there.

"I left the money on top of the fridge. I left an extra $20 for you with it in case you wanted to rent a movie or something today. I'm headed to the school so I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye dad." Snake headed out the front door walking towards Degrassi.

Emma had the whole house to herself today. She had spent most of the day yesterday with her mom, Manny and Jack at the park. Manny and Emma tanned while her mom and Jack played at the playground. Then they all went to the wading pool. It was Jack's first experience in the water and he had a blast. Emma enjoyed playfully splashing him and watching him squeal excitedly. Afterwards they went for ice cream. Emma had a great day with her best friend and her family and it almost took her mind off breaking up with Chris…almost.

But laying in her bed all alone her mind started wandering again. She had no set plans for today. Her mom and dad were both at work and Jack was at daycare. Manny was spending the day with her grandmother. She had called Liberty to see if she was able to hang out but she had already left for summer camp.

She got out of bed and headed towards the shower. After taking a lengthy shower she stepped out, dried off and got dressed. She picked out a red tank top and a blue jean skirt for her outfit today. She pulled back her hair in a ponytail and applied her make up. She thought about walking to the corner store to rent a video when she remembered she had to stay home and wait for Sean to show up. Snake had left money for her to give to Sean so he could pick up some parts he needed to fix the car. Snake had asked her last night if she minded and she said she didn't. Even though her and Sean weren't exactly on speaking terms she didn't hate him anymore and thought this might be a good opportunity for her to apologize for being rude to him on Monday.

Just as she thought about him the doorbell rang. She walked upstairs and opened the door to see Sean standing on the other side.

"Hi." he said.

"Come in. I have the money for you on top of the fridge." she said turning her back towards him and walking in to the kitchen. Sean took off his shoes at the door and followed her in to the kitchen.

"Here's the money Snake left for you." Emma said handing Sean three crisp one hundred dollar bills. "He also mentioned last night that he needed a receipt for the parts." Sean still had to earn Snake's trust back and Sean understood why Snake wanted that receipt.

"Thanks Emma." They both stood awkwardly in the kitchen not sure what to say next. Sean wanted to find out if Emma was okay. Emma wanted to apologize to Sean. They were both nervous and both started talking at the same time.

"You go first." Emma said to Sean.

"I…uhh….just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened the other day." Sean asked looking straight in to her eyes. He continued to stare at her while he waited for her to respond.

"I'd be lying if I told you I was completely fine. I'm doing better though." Emma replied. "And I wanted to apologize to you. I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day. You didn't deserve that."

"You had just broken up with your boyfriend. No need to apologize."

"Ok. Thanks."

"Well I guess I should get going. I'm headed to Wasaga to pick up the parts for your dad's car. Jay lent me his car today so I could drive up there."

"Your going all the way to Wasaga?" Emma asked curiously.

"Yeah, I have a friend up there who works at a used auto parts shop. He has quality used parts for good prices. If I bought them around here it would cost twice as much." Sean didn't look forward to going back up to Wasaga but knew it was worth the drive to save Mr. Simpson some money. He hadn't been back since his parents had kicked him out in Grade 7. He really didn't want to go alone. He had asked Jay to come with him but Jay had to work. He could've asked Ellie but since she didn't know about his past up in Wasaga he didn't want to take her. He decided to ask Emma. "What are you up to today? Do you feel like going for a drive?"

After a moment's hesitation she answered. "Sure, why not. I just gotta get a couple of things together and I'll be ready."

"Alright. I'll be waiting outside."

Emma went downstairs and grabbed a sweater and her purse. She wrote a note for her mom and dad explaining where she was going. The note read "Gone to Wasaga with Sean to get the parts for Snake's car. I took my cell. Love Emma." She stood over the note in disbelief. Two days ago she had been planning for her summer to be occupied by Chris and Manny. The last thing she expected to be doing was hanging out with Sean. But life didn't always go the way you planned it so she decided to go with her new found singleness and go to Wasaga with Sean.

**What will happen on the drive to/from Wasaga? You'll have to read the next chapter when I post it to find out :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors notes: Sorry for not updating in a week. :( I have been busy working and busy with Christmas stuff. I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading :)**

Emma stepped outside her front door locking it behind her. She headed towards Jay's orange Honda civic where Sean leaned against it smoking a cigarette.

"Since when did you start smoking…" she started to ask but then realizing it was none of her business finished the sentence with "never mind." She opened the passengers side door and got inside the car. 'Smart move' Emma thought to herself. He didn't invite you to go to Wasaga with him to be critical of his actions.

Sean opened the drivers side door and sat down. He started the car and pulled out of her driveway. Within minutes they were on the highway headed towards Wasaga. There hadn't been a word spoken since they both got in the car.

'This silence is getting to me. But I don't want to be the one to start the conversation…after all he was the one who invited me.' Emma thought. She turned to stare out the window so she didn't seem too eager to talk to him.

'I wonder if she's regretting coming with me. She's being quiet. I'm surprised she hasn't started lecturing me on the negatives of smoking. She must still be sad about the Chris thing.' Sean thought to himself. He reached for his bottle of Pepsi when Emma surprised him by being the first to speak.

"So you and Ellie, huh? How are things going? She seems like a nice girl." Emma said not beating around the bush. Emma had always wondered about their relationship and on the inside had been a bit jealous. Ellie seemed to bring out the good in Sean which was something Emma had once been able to do until everything had fallen apart.

Sean choked on his Pepsi surprised by Emma being so forthright. Then he chuckled to himself for being surprised. Emma was never the kind of girl to beat around the bush. "Things with Ellie are great….I mean 'were' great…..but…." Sean replayed the conversation he and Ellie had the night before in his mind.

"_Sean we need to talk." Ellie said after they were both seated on his couch. She had shown up unexpectedly a couple of minutes earlier._

"_Ok then talk." Sean said to her. He could tell something serious was up as she was trembling._

"_I'm leaving."_

"_Leaving? Where are you going?"_

"_Chicago. I'm going to stay with my aunt Sue for a while."_

"_For how long?"_

"_I'm not sure." Tears started flowing from her eyes and Sean put his arms around her to comfort her. "You know things haven't been good at home with my mom and lately I've been having urges…."_

"_Ellie." Sean said as he pulled her out of the embrace and stared straight into her eyes. "You haven't started cutting again…..have you?"_

"_No." Ellie assured him. "I haven't. But I don't think I'm strong enough to stay around her and not cut. That's why I'm leaving. I need to get away for a while. My Aunt Sue said I could stay with her as long as I want to. I'm planning on at least completing my Grade 11 in Chicago."_

_Sean's head sunk as he realized that she would be gone for at least a year. She could read his thoughts and finished the rest of what she had came over to do._

"_Sean, I'm leaving tonight. And when I leave Toronto I leave behind the bad things that happened to me that made me cut. Unfortunately, I also have to leave behind the good things. I'm sorry but we have to break up."_

_Sean nodded his head. He understood. In order for her to get better she had to do this on her own. They exchanged goodbyes and hugged one last time. Ellie left Sean's apartment not looking back._

Sean finished the replay of last night's conversation with Ellie in his mind and finished answering Emma's question. "…but…we broke up last night."

"Are you okay?" Emma asked concerned.

"I will be." Sean replied. "Ellie is moving to Chicago. She has some things in her life that she needs to figure out. It really is the best thing for her."

Emma nodded her head. She really wasn't sure what to say next. Luckily Sean broke the ice this time.

"So your dad is going to be our homeroom teacher again next year?" Sean asked.

"Yes he is." Emma said. "We almost got stuck with Raditch as our homeroom but at the last minute they switched things up and we got dad again. Can you imagine a whole year as Raditch as our homeroom?"

"If Raditch was our homeroom I might as well move my bed permanently to detention hall. Because we both know I'd be spending more time sleeping there then I would be at home." Sean said jokingly. They both laughed together for the first time in a long time.

BANG!!! The loud noise brought Sean's attention back to the road and to the wheel. The car started pulling to the right…..

**Uh oh! What's wrong with the car? Read the next chapter when it's posted to find out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors notes: I just wanted to let you guys know the reason behind Ellie & Sean breaking up so early on.. As this story will eventually turn into a "semma" I wanted both characters to be single. Thank you to everyone who reviews...it means a lot. I'm always open to ideas of how you'd like this story to go. I've figured out a few things that I would like to see happen in the future but I haven't planned the whole story out yet so any suggestions are always welcome. :) Enjoy:) **

"What was that?" Emma asked concerned.

"Probably just blew a tire." Sean said as he pulled the car off to the side of the road. He got out of the car to inspect the situation. Just as he had guessed the rear right tire had blown. He must've run over something sharp on the highway.

"Looks like we'll be here for a little while." Sean said to Emma who had also gotten out of the car. "I need to change the tire before we can back on the road." Sean headed back to the back of the Honda Civic and popped the trunk looking for the spare tire.

"Anything I can do to help?" Emma asked.

Sean searched the trunk for the spare tire. Jay's trunk was full of lots of stuff. He had a sleeping bag, tent, pillows, beer, extra clothes and even a bit of food. He rooted to the bottom and pulled out the spare tire along with the jack and other tools needed to change a tire. "Here, hold this." he said to Emma passing her the wrench.

Emma held on to the dirty wrench trying not to let it touch any part of her clothing. She definitely did not want to get grease stains all over her clothes. Sean set up the tools and took a look at the spare tire. "Crap." Sean said aloud.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked setting the wrench down on the ground by the other tools Sean had placed by the blown tire.

"This spare isn't very good. It's low on air."

"What does that mean? We're stranded?"

"Not quite. I can put it on and it should be able to get us to the next gas station at least so I can fill it up with air. When we get to Wasaga I'll have to see about getting a new tire or getting this one fixed."

"Ok." Sean went to work on changing the tire while Emma sat back in the passenger seat. The sun was beating down and it wasn't long before she was sweating. She took a sip of her water and decided to get out of the car and check on Sean.

"Did you want some water?" she started to ask then stopped in her tracks. There Sean stood beside the car finishing up changing the tire shirtless. She had never seen him shirtless before. 'Wow' she thought to herself and checked him out. 'The gym has definitely been good to him.' He shook his head yes and she handed him the bottle of water.

He smiled at her noticing that she had just checked him out. He remembered he had been the one checking her out only a few days earlier. He handed her back the water and he finished tightening the bolts.

"Looks like we'll be on our way in a couple of minutes. I just need to put the tools back and have a smoke." he said grabbing the tools and heading for the trunk of the car. He put the tools away and headed to the front of the car where Emma was sitting on the hood. He sat down beside her pulling his t-shirt back on and then lighting a cigarette

"To answer your question from earlier, I started smoking a couple of months ago." he said bluntly. "I know it's a bad habit but it chills me out."

She nodded her head not wanting to be judgemental.

"No lectures?" Sean asked looking over at her.

"The new Emma is trying not to be judgemental."

"The new Emma? What's wrong with being the old Emma?"

"The old Emma pushed her friends away by judging him. The old Emma stuck her nose in others people business. There must've been something wrong with the old Emma if her own boyfriend would cheat on her." she said staring at the ground.

Sean flicked his cigarette to the ground. "That's one way to look at it I guess." he said. "But it's not how I remember the old Emma. The old Emma stood up for what she believed in. The old Emma stood by her friends when they turned down the wrong path and tried to lead them to the right one. Don't let some guy cheating on you make you want to change who you are. Guys do stupid things sometimes….." Sean reached over and placed his hand on her face and turned it so she was looking at him. "Sometimes they break up with girls for stupid reasons and then steal their step-dad's laptop for revenge."

He moved his hand from her face and placed it on top of her hand. "I'm sorry Em. For everything I put you through this past year. I'm really sorry."

She nodded accepting his apology. "I'm sorry too Sean. I was awful to you after we broke up."

"Ancient history" he said. "So know that we have both apologized, did you want to try the friend thing?

"I'd like that." Emma said smiling and gave him a quick hug.

"Well we should get back on the road." The two friends got back in the car and continued on their road trip to Wasaga.

**What will happen once they arrive in Wasaga? Will the car make it there and will they be able to get the tire fixed? You'll have to read the next chapter when I post it to find out.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors notes: I'd like to take this opportunity to make all of you readers aware of a fanfiction called "Tension" written by -TiFFaNY-TWiSTeD-. This is -TiFFaNY-TWiSTeD'S first story on and if you haven't already then I suggest you all check it out as she is a very talented writer. :) **

"We're here." Sean announced as he pulled in to the parking lot of Smith's Used Auto Parts. Emma looked at the dilapidated building.

"I know it's not much." Sean said. "But my friend owns it."

"Your friend is running his own business?"

"Yeah, his name is Ryan Smith. He was actually Tracker's best friend growing up. They used to hang out when they were younger. He opened up this shop about a year ago and hopes to get a new location once things get up and running."

Emma and Sean got out of the car and entered the shop. Inside there was a counter with a middle aged man standing behind it. There were also a few chairs in the corner with a few magazines lying on a table. "I'll wait over here." Emma said whispering in to Sean's ear.

Sean approached the counter.

"Can I help you?" the middle aged man asked.

"I'm here to see Ryan." Sean said.

"He's out back. I'll go get him." The man went through a swinging door.

A couple of minutes later 23 year old Ryan came through the door.

"Little Cameron!" He exclaimed as he walked through the door realizing who was waiting for him. He came out from around the counter and gave him a hug. "How you been man?"

"I've been good." Sean replied.

Ryan eyed Emma sitting in the corner reading a magazine. "And who is this?" he asked.

"Ryan this is Emma….my friend." Sean said as Emma looked up from her magazine smiling and giving Ryan a small wave hello.

"Your friend, eh? Well I hope your keeping Little Cameron here out of trouble."

"I try." she said and went back to reading the magazine.

"Follow me out back Sean. I got the parts you needed all ready. I just want you to look them over first before I pack them up." Sean followed Ryan behind the counter and through the swinging doors to the back of the shop where all of the used parts were stored.

"Nice place you have here Ryan." Sean said noticing the huge inventory of used parts.

"Thanks man. Business has been picking up. I hope to only be here for another six months before we get into a bigger location." Ryan said walking over to a shelf and gathering the parts needed to fix Mr. Simpson's car. "Here's what you asked for."

Sean looked over the parts. Everything seemed to be in fairly good condition. "Everything looks good Ryan. I'll take all of it."

Ryan grabbed a couple of boxes and started packing the parts in to them. "So Emma, huh? She's hot." Ryan said making small talk.

"Yeah, she's gorgeous." Sean said.

"But your just friends?" Ryan asked quizzically.

"It's a long story man. I'll give you the short version. We dated on and off for the past couple of years. I broke up with her a few months ago and really hurt her." Sean said helping Ryan finish packing the parts into the boxes.

"Well she can't hate you too much if she was willing to go on a road trip with you."

"I guess." Sean said shoving his hands in his pockets nervously.

"You still care about her, don't you Little Cameron."

"Is it that obvious?" Sean asked.

"Come on man, I could always read you like an open book when it came to women. You try to act like a tough guy but when it comes to someone your really interested in you wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Hey don't say that to loud. I wouldn't want to blow my tough guy image." Sean said jokingly.

"So what are you waiting for?" Ryan asked. "Go for it before I do." He laughed and punched Sean in the shoulder lightly. "You know once the girls get a piece of Ryan Smith then they would never want another man again." Ryan said cockily.

"It's good to see you haven't changed one bit." Sean shook his head and helped Ryan carry the boxes out to the front counter.

Emma lifted her head up from the magazine she was reading once the boys returned to the front room. Ryan gave her a smile and wink. She had the feeling that she had just been discussed in the back room.

Sean paid Ryan for the parts and was just about to leave when he remembered the blown tire. He explained what had happened and how the spare tire was leaking air.

"Looks to me like you have two options." Ryan said. "First you could try sealing the leak on the spare tire by using a sealant. If you go this route you have to make sure you don't drive the car for at least 12 hours after applying the sealant to the tire as it needs time to dry. Or I have a shipment of used tires coming in tomorrow morning. I could set one aside for you and you could pick it up tomorrow. Either way it looks like you'll be spending the night in Wasaga."

'Spending the night?' Emma thought. 'I definitely didn't see that coming but I guess it wouldn't be too bad. It would give me and Sean a chance to talk.'

Sean considered the options and decided to wait and get a used tire from Ryan in the morning. Sean and Emma headed to the car with the boxes of parts.

"It looks like we are stranded after all, for the night anyways." Sean said apologetically to Emma.

"It's okay. I'll just call my mom and let her know what happened and that we'll be back tomorrow afternoon." Emma said. "But where will we sleep tonight?"

Sean thought about that for a minute. He didn't want to stay with his parents. He wasn't ready to see them yet. He also didn't want to bother Ryan as he felt Ryan had already down enough for him. Then a light bulb went off in his head remembering Jay had a tent, sleeping bag and pillows in the trunk. "I know just the place." Sean said smiling. "I think you'll like it there."

**A little camping adventure for Sean/Emma. Thanks for being patient...Semma will emerge shortly :) But of course you have to read the next chapter when it's posted to find out more!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors notes: Thanks to those that have been following this story. Writing is a hobby of mine that I would not be motivated to do if it weren't for the readers on this site so again I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my story :)**

"Sean! It's beautiful here!" Emma exclaimed as she got out of the Honda Civic and headed towards the beach. Sean had taken them to a private part of Wasaga beach that one of his uncle's owned. There were trees on each side of it so it was almost like they had their own private beach.

Emma walked down to the water kicking her sandals off in the sand. She waded in the water up to her knees and took a minute to take in the beauty of the lake and the beach. She took a deep breath allowing herself to breath in the beauty she was surrounded by. It was her first time in Wasaga Beach.

After a few moments Emma put her sandals back on and headed back up to the car where Sean seemed to be unloading a few things from the trunk. "Wow." Emma said. "Jay has everything in that trunk, doesn't he."

"Almost." Sean said as he took the tent out of the trunk and started to set it up.

"Need some help?" Emma asked. Sean pulled the tent out of the bag and she helped him set it up. He grabbed the sleeping bag and a couple of pillows from the trunk and threw them inside. They sat down at the picnic table located beside the tent with their pizza that they had picked up along the way.

Emma and Sean were both hungry so they both dug in to the pizza. "Mmmmmmm…..double cheese. My favourite." Emma said as she devoured her first piece. "It's been forever since I had a slice."

"Yeah, me too." Sean said as he took a sip of his soda. He hadn't had a double cheese pizza since him and Emma had still been together. "Emma, I'm sorry I got you stranded up here in Wasaga."

Emma looked at Sean. She didn't mind getting stranded at all. It meant they got to spend the whole night together getting to know one another again. Her heart fluttered just looking at him. She knew her feelings for him had never left but had rather been suppressed for the last couple of months because she had to. Tonight was her chance to find out if he still felt the same way. "It's okay Sean." she answered. "Staying the night with you wouldn't be to awful, I guess." she said teasingly.

"Oh really?" Sean said smiling and teasing her back. "I'm happy to hear that you think it wouldn't be 'to awful.'

They finished their supper and Sean set up a small fire. His uncle always had a small stack of firewood in the rear of the property. Sean grabbed his lighter from his pocket and started the fire.

"Mr. Boy Scout doesn't happen to have any marshmallows in his trunk does he?" Emma asked remembering the tons of stuff Jay had in his trunk.

"Didn't see any marshmallows." Sean replied. "But I do remember seeing some girls clothes in there."

"Jay wears girls clothes? That's something I definitely didn't need to know about Jay." Emma said laughing.

"They belong to Alex." Sean said. "Or at least I hope they do."

"So why mention the extra clothes?"

"I thought maybe we could go swimming. You can't come to Wasaga Beach and not at least go for one swim."

"Swimming sounds good." Emma said. Sean left the fire and headed to the trunk. He found one towel and a pair of shorts and a tank top for Emma to wear swimming. He handed her the clothes and she went in the tent to change.

When Emma emerged from the tent wearing Alex's clothes she saw Sean had already headed in to the water. He had taken off his shirt and had changed in to a pair of Jay's swimming trunks. Sean was already all the way in to the water. Emma slowly waded in to the water. The cool water hit her legs and she started to shiver. "So cold." she said.

"It's not that bad. You just have to get wet." he said as he splashed her.

"Sean stop that!" she squealed splashing him back.

They continued splashing each other. "Splash me all you want Em! I'm already warmed up."

'Em' she thought. How she loved it when he called her that. Her heart fluttered again. He had that affect on her. She could feel his eyes on her and she glanced up to meet his gaze. As if there was an unknown force drawing her to him she moved towards him until their faces were only inches apart.

As if it were instinct he wrapped his arms around her and held her for the first time in months. She nuzzled her head into his chest and listened to his heart beat rapidly. "Emma." he whispered in her ear. "Would it be alright if I kissed you."

She lifted her head from his chest and met his gaze once again. She nodded her head to accept his request. He gently placed his lips on hers. She kissed him back. He parted her lips with his tongue and searched out every millimeter of her mouth with it. They were lost in a moment until Emma pulled away remembering her recent heartbreak.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked concerned as he noticed tears started fall on her face.

"I don't know if I can do this." she said as she turned around and headed towards the beach.


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Notes: Hey guys! It's been a few days. I've been away on vacation but didn't want to wait until I got home tomorrow to update so I posted this chapter tonight! I had fun trying to figure out how to use my friend's MAC computer to write and upload this chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Happy Reading! **

"Emma! Wait!" Sean called after her as she exited the water and headed to the beach. He caught up with her and grabbed her hand and turned her around.

"I need to be alone, Sean." she said as the tears continued to fall. "Please?" she begged.

"Ok." he said as he let go of her hand and watched her walk down the beach alone.

Emma walked to the end of the private area of the beach and sat in the sand. She picked up a small stick and started drawing aimlessly loosing herself in her thoughts.

Sean sat at the picnic table alone with his thoughts. He wasn't sure exactly what he had done wrong. He replayed the last few minutes in his mind. He had asked her to go swimming and she said yes. An unknown force had drawn them together and then he had held her. He had asked if he could kiss her and she said yes. He replayed the kiss a couple of times in his mind remembering the way it felt for his lips to be pressed against hers. And then she started crying? This is what confused him. He didn't understand girls. But he knew one person who might be able to explain this unsolved mystery to him.

Sean took his cell phone out of his shorts that he had been wearing earlier. He didn't even need to look up the phone number as he had called it only a couple of days earlier.

"Sean? Is that you again?" Manny said picking up after the first ring.

"Yeah, it's me." he replied.

"Is everything alright or did you just call for a friendly chat?"

Sean sighed and explained the situation to Manny. "...and then I kissed her and then she started crying. I just don't get it Manny, what did I do wrong?"

"What did you do wrong Sean? You really need to ask that question?"

"I just don't want to hurt her."

"Well it's too late Sean. You did hurt her. Pretty bad about 3 months ago. She was a mess. Her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer and you dump her for Jay's gang. Then you go and steal her step-dad's laptop! Did you really expect her to come running back with open arms after that?"

"She told you I stole her dad's laptop?" he said ashamed.

"No. She didn't tell me. She didn't have to. I figured it out myself."

"So I guess I should just give up and leave her alone?"

"I didn't say that. You may have hurt her Sean but she still cares about you. She always has. You're stuck deep in her heart so don't give up on the possibility of a relationship so easily."

"I've changed Manny. I'm not the same guy anymore."

"Then prove it to her. She just broke up with Chris two days ago for cheating on her. She's had her share of heartbreak this year. My best advice is just be her friend for now. Give her time to heal and time to trust you again and let her see for herself that you have changed."

"I can do that. Thanks for the advice Manny."

Manny heard a beep signaling that someone was calling her on her other line. "I gotta let you go Sean because someone's calling on the other line."

"Hello?" Manny said answering the other line on her cell phone.

"Hi Manny." Emma said quietly.

"Emma. How are you doing?"

Emma held back the tears and re-explained the same situation that Manny had just heard from Sean minutes earlier. "...and then he kissed me. A whole bunch of emotions started flooding over me and I started crying. Then I ran."

"How was the kiss?" Manny asked.

"It was perfect." Emma said remembering. 'Maybe too perfect.' she thought. "I don't know if I can do this with him now. I care about him but I just feel like we're rushing in to this. I just don't want to get hurt again."

"Why don't you just try being his friend. He's going to be at your house like 3 days a week anyway so talk to him while he's fixing your dad's car. Get to know him again. You never know, you just might find out that he's changed."

Emma felt better after receiving the advice from her best friend. She said goodbye to Manny, got up and headed back towards the fire. She saw Sean standing beside the fire gazing into it intensely. She shivered realizing that she hadn't really had a chance to dry off after getting out of the water and that the air had started to cool.

Sean noticed her shivering and reached over to her handing her the towel. "This should warm you up." he said.

"Listen, Sean, about me taking off earlier..."

"It's okay." he interrupted. "Maybe we rushed things a bit earlier. How about we cool things down a bit and just try being friends." he suggested.

"Weird." she said. "That's exactly what I was going to say."

"So, we're cool then?" he asked as he looked in her eyes.

"We're cool." she said. "I'm tired so I think I'm going to go to sleep now." Sean being a gentleman asked for her to pass him one of the sleeping bags and pillows out of the tent and offered to sleep outside while she slept inside. She agreed and a few minutes later after being snuggled up in her sleeping bag inside of the tent she fell asleep.

In the middle of the night Emma awoke startled trying to remember where she was. She touched the sleeping bag and realized that she was in the tent. She sat up and quietly unzipped the front of the tent to look outside. Directly in front of the tent Sean had placed his sleeping bag and pillow and appeared to be sound asleep under the stars. Emma got out of the tent and quietly unzipped his double sleeping bag and slipped in beside him. She stared at him sleeping peacefully and then cuddled up beside him. He awoke for a second noticing Emma cuddled beside him and wrapped his arms around her before immediately falling back asleep. This made Emma smile. 'We were never good at the just being friends thing.' she thought to herself. 'But I guess it's worth a shot.' She too fell back asleep.

**Has Sean really changed? Will they be able to just be friends? Keep on reading to find out what happens between them:)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors notes: In addition to fanfiction I am also addicted to watching Degrassi videos on youtube. You can check out the Semma video I made by going to youtube and typing in "Degrassi stand by you" in the search field. It is the one that has approximately 12,000 views and is 4min35sec long. I tried to post the link but it won't let me post it on this site. Enjoy the video and enjoy the next chapter:)**

Emma and Sean spent the next month getting to know each other again as friends. Sean worked on Mr. Simpson's car three afternoons a week and while he was working on the car Emma would sit outside and talk to him.

Sean enjoyed spending the afternoons with her. He was usually under the car or under the hood working so he was too busy looking at the car instead of looking at her. He was fortunate for that because he was not sure he would be able to control himself otherwise. Spike had invited him for dinner a few times which he was grateful for. He made a point to leave directly afterwards so he wouldn't have the opportunity to screw up the friendship thing they had going.

Sean walked slowly to Emma's house on Friday afternoon. It was to be his last day working on Mr. Simpson's car. He could have been finished a week earlier but had managed to stretch it out longer by offering to detail his car completely. He had fixed everything that could possibly be fixed. He really had no more excuses to come over three afternoons a week.

As he walked up the Nelson-Simpson driveway he noticed Emma was already outside sitting on the step flipping through a magazine. "Oh hey Sean." she said as she noticed him approaching the steps.

He sat down beside her and peered over her shoulder. "Any fashion tips in there for me?" he asked jokingly.

"Nah.. nothing you would be interested in anyway." she said to him smiling. "Unless you're in to short skirts and sun dresses."

"As a matter of fact I am in to short skirts and sun dresses." he said putting his arm around her shoulder. "As long as you're the one wearing them."

She rolled up the magazine and playfully hit him on the head with it. "So I hear it's your last day today." she said in more seriousness.

"Yeah it is. I just have to shine the rims on the car and then I'm finished."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else you can do to fix it up some more? If you aren't here then who is going to keep me entertained?"

"Are you admitting that you are going to miss having me around, Em?" he asked with a huge smirk on his face. He enjoyed teasing her and he knew she got just as much pleasure out of it as he did.

"Maybe a little bit." she said. "But don't let it go to your head." she added.

Sean looked at her knowing that over the last month of their friendship his feelings hadn't lessened at all. Getting to know her better just made his feelings for her stronger. He decided he should invite her out. "Got any plans for tonight?" he asked.

"Manny's coming over later but that's about it."

"Jay and I are heading to the Ravine tonight. Why don't you guys meet us there?"

"The Ravine?" she asked suspiciously. She had heard the rumours around school about what went on in the Ravine at night time.

"I know it's not usually your scene but it should be a good time. I usually go for the fire and the music." he assured her.

Emma pondered the invitation for a moment. She hadn't hung out with Sean outside of her house since Wasaga. She decided it was time to let loose. "If you're there then I'm there." Emma said. "I'm going to go in the house and call Manny to let her know what's going on."

"Ok. I'm only going to be a couple of minutes here and then I'm finished. So I'll see you later tonight then?" he asked again confirming.

"Yes, tonight." she said smiling one more time and then headed in to her house.

When the front door was closed Sean walked over to the car and started shining the rims. He secretly did the dance of joy in his head. He was very excited Emma would be joining him at the ravine. He hoped tonight would be the night that they permanently changed their friendship status to something more.

Emma flopped on her bed clutching the phone over her heart as it raced. She was excited that Sean had finally asked her to hang out. She dialled Manny's number.

"Hi Emma. I was just on my way over. Did you still want me to pick up the movie and ice cream?"

"Change of plans Manny. We're going out tonight."

"Going out?" Manny asked excitedly. She had been begging Emma all summer to go out. "Where?"

"To the ravine with Jay and Sean. There's a party there tonight."

"Awesome. I'll be right over."

"And Manny?"

"Yeah, Emma."

"Could you bring me one of your jean skirts? The shorter the better."

"Sure. See you in a couple of minutes." Manny wasn't sure what exactly what had gotten in to Emma but whatever it was she liked it.

**Sounds like Emma and Sean are tired of being just friends. Read the next chapter when I post it to find out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors notes: I just want to say that I think this fanfiction site defenitely has awesome readers and reviewers!!! I broke my own personal record for reviews as I have managed to get more than I had for my last story so thank you all so much! **

"There. You look perfect." Manny said to Emma as she applied the finishing touches to Emma's make up. Emma turned around and looked in the mirror and her jaw dropped.

"I don't look perfect Manny. I look better than perfect. I look hot!" Emma exclaimed excitedly.

"And once Sean gets a look at you…." Manny started.

"He'll be all mine." Emma interrupted.

"Are you ready to be with him again, Em?" Manny asked seriously concerned about her best friend's welfare. "Are you sure he's changed?"

"I am finally ready Manny. He's been nothing but sweet to me since he started working on my dad's car over a month ago. I love him and it's about time I told him that."

"Well don't let me slow you down. Let's get going." They grabbed their purses and snuck out the window.

They heard the loud music coming from one of the car's speakers. There were a few people hanging around the fire and another group standing over by the picnic tables. Emma looked around for Jay and Sean but didn't spot them anywhere. Just as she was about to suggest to Manny that they go for a walk and come back later she heard her cell phone ring.

"Hello?" Emma answered.

"Hi. It's me." Sean said.

"Hi Sean."

"I just wanted to let you and Manny know that Jay and I are running a little bit late. We'll be at the ravine in an hour or so. Are you guys alright to hang out until we're able to get there?" Sean asked.

Emma was going to ask Manny if they were going to stay but noticed she had already disappeared from Emma's side to join a group of guys hanging out by the fire.

"It looks like Manny has already made some new friends so we'll be fine."

"Ok. See you soon."

"Can't wait." Emma said hanging up her cell phone and venturing over to stand beside Manny.

"….and that's what's I've been up to this summer." Emma heard Manny say as she joined the group Manny was hanging out with. The guys Manny had been talking to were pretty hot.

Emma noticed a tall blonde boy about her age staring at her from across the group. He came over beside her so he could talk to her. "You must be Manny's friend." he said to her not taking his eyes off of her.

She was a bit uncomfortable with his incessant staring but decided to talk to him anyway. "Yes I am. I'm Emma."

"Well Emma, it's nice to meet you." he said. "You thirsty Emma?"

Emma felt uncomfortable standing in the group without having something in her hand. Everyone else seemed to be holding a drink of some sort whether it be a beer or a bottle of water. Even Manny had a glass bottle that seemed to look like it had some sort of juice in it. "Yeah, I'm a bit thirsty." she said answering the his question.

"Follow me then." he said as he grabbed her hand and led her a few feet away to a cooler full of drinks. She felt awkward with him holding her hand so she quickly pulled it away.

"What are you in the mood to drink tonight?" he asked bending down sorting through the cooler. "I've got beer, pepsi, coolers…"

"I'll take whatever Manny's drinking." Emma said quickly wanting to rejoin the group of people she had just left. Something about this guy just didn't seem right to her..

"Good choice." he said handing her a glass bottle with a reddish color juice inside.

Emma noticed the label had been already peeled off the bottle so she was unsure of the contents inside. She twisted off the cap and took a sip. "Tastes good." she said.

"Yes, they do. That drink is very popular with the girls. I have lots so if you want another one just let me know." he said as they walked back to rejoin the group.

"Ok. Thanks. I'll be sure to do that. And what's your name anyway?" Emma asked remembering that she had told him her name but he hadn't offered his.

He smiled. "It's Peter…Peter Stone."


	12. Chapter 12

He smiled. "It's Peter…..Peter Stone."

"You don't go to Degrassi, do you?" Emma asked making small talk with Peter.

"No, I go to a private school." he explained. "I know someone who….uhhh…." Peter didn't feel like going in to detail about how his mother was a teacher at Degrassi. He didn't feel that would score any points with the girls. "…uhhh….who goes there."

"Well now you know three." Emma said. "Manny and I attend there as well."

"Cool." Peter said as he took a sip of his beer.

Emma and Peter rejoined the groups conversation. Time seemed to be going slowly as she waited for Sean and Jay to arrive. She awaited nervously with butterflies in her stomach. To pass the time she found herself drinking the "juice" Peter had given her pretty quickly and occasionally participating in the conversation the group was having. Before she knew it her bottle was empty and just as she was about to turn around and find a place to set the empty bottle down Peter appeared with another in his hand.

"Here you go." he said as he took the empty bottle from her hand and replaced it with a full one.

"Thanks" Emma said as a wave of dizziness suddenly hit her. Peter noticed the affects of the alcohol had started to kick in and wasted no time coming to the rescue.

"Are you okay? Why don't we go sit down at one of the picnic tables." he said as he grabbed her hand and guided her over there. She again felt uncomfortable with his grabbing her hand but didn't seem to be able to react fast enough to pull it away before they reached the picnic table.

"Tell me a bit about yourself Emma." Peter pried. "Are you single?"

Emma thought about how to answer that question properly. Her and Sean were still just friends. "Technically yes but hopefully not for long."

Peter decided he better step up his charm a notch if he was going to get any action from her tonight. He was pretty good at getting girls drunk and taking advantage of them but he could sense that Emma wasn't going to be so easy. "You're beautiful, you know." he said eyeing her up and down.

"Thanks." Emma said blushing and taking a huge swig of her drink. "I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I'm kind of waiting for someone to show up here tonight." 'What's taking Sean so long.' she thought.

"Well there's nothing wrong with two people talking is there?" Peter asked.

"I suppose not." Emma said uncomfortably. She let Peter do most of the talking as she continued to drink and nod her head occasionally. An unfamiliar feeling came over her body as she finished her second drink.

"I see your empty again. I'll be right back with a third." he said leaving for a quick moment and returning handing her another drink.

Sean and Jay finally arrived to the Ravine an hour and a half after the time they had originally said they would meet the girls. Sean and Jay quickly got out of the car and Jay headed to the trunk to get his case of beer out. "Sorry we're late man." Jay apologized to Sean as he handed Sean his own case of beer.

"It's okay Jay. You had to work late. There wasn't anything we could do about that."

"I suppose not. Good thing you were there to help me or I wouldn't have gotten out of the shop for another couple of hours."

"What are friends for?" Sean said as he cracked open his first beer of the night. "I'm off to find Emma. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Jay smiled as he watched his friend walk away. He knew tonight was an important night for Sean and hoped it worked out as well as he had planned.

Sean looked around for Emma and Manny but didn't see Emma anywhere. He spotted Manny talking to a group of guys and approached them. "Manny." Sean said as he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sean!" she yelled a little louder than he had expected. She stumbled the couple of steps over to him as she threw her arms around him to give him a hug. "It's good to see you."

He thought Manny was acting a bit weird until he noticed the mysterious glass bottle filled with a reddish coloured substance in it and put two and two together. "Manny, are you wasted?" he asked.

"Wasted? Nooooooooooooooooooooooo……." she said stretching out her words. "Loaded? Yesssssssss I think so." she said giggling.

"Where's Emma?"

Manny put her hand on her head trying to remember when she had last seen Emma. "Emma? I thiiiink she went over there." she said pointing to a now abandoned picnic table. "She was with some blonde guy named Peter that we met tonight."

"Peter Stone?" Sean asked as his temperature started to rise. He knew all about Peter Stone. Peter spent many nights down at the Ravine getting unsuspecting girls drunk, charming them and then taking advantage of them. He wanted to beat him to a pulp if he dare try to do something like that to Emma.

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

Sean wasted no time asking anymore questions. He found Jay who was still by his car. "What's wrong?" Jay asked noticing the alarmed look on Sean's face.

"It's Emma. I think she's with Peter Stone. We got to find her before something happens." Jay dropped his beer and followed his friend who had already started running to the other side of the ravine. If Jay knew Peter well enough then he probably had already gotten Emma inebriated and had convinced her to go in one of the vans with him.

A minute later Jay and Sean were standing outside the van. It's door was shut and they could hear voices coming from inside the van.

"Emma?" Sean hollered as he yanked open the van door and looked inside. There he saw Emma sitting up against the side of the van with a drink in hand. Peter was sitting there as well. They were both fully clothed and sitting a few feet apart.

"Sean! You finally made it." Emma said excitedly. She tried to get up but another wave of dizziness hit her and she was forced to sit back down. Sean saw that Emma was holding the same type of drink that he had noticed Manny with a few minutes earlier. "I don't feel so well Sean."

He took the bottle out of her hand and poured the remaining bit of liquid to the ground before throwing the bottle to the ground. Peter stared at Sean with a stunned look unsure of what to do next. Sean wasted no time telling Peter what he thought of the situation. "What the HELL are you doing? Trying to get her drunk?" Sean yelled at Peter.

'Drunk?' Emma thought. Emma looked from one boy to the other confused for a second until she put two and two together. Peter had been giving her coolers and that was why she didn't feel so well.

Peter froze. He knew Sean and Jay were both bigger than him and wasn't sure how he was going to get out of the van without receiving some bodily harm.

Sean's temper flared and though he felt like beating Peter to a pulp and making him regret ever even talking to Emma, he managed to control it. "Get out of the van Peter before I change my mind and give to you what you got coming."

Peter did not hesitate this time. He scrambled out of the van and headed out of sight. Sean climbed in the van and sat beside Emma. "Jay…" Sean said as he put his arms around Emma. "Go find Manny and make sure she's okay. Please stay with her till we get back."

"Sure thing." Jay shut the van door to give Emma and Sean some privacy and headed out to find Manny.

**Authors notes: Thanks for those who reviewed for last chapter and trusted that Peter's character would be up to his usual Peter ways. (I'm not a big Peter fan). I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter is the one all of the Semma lovers out there have been waiting for:) Don't forget, read and review:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors notes: So it's been a few days...sorry for the delay in updating. It took me a few days to figure out how I wanted this chapter to go exactly. I knew the main point of the chapter but I needed to work the details out in my head. Thanks and thanks and more thanks to the reviewers. :) Happy reading!**

"How are you feeling Em?" Sean said as he continued to hold her. She had rested her head on his shoulder for support.

"I'm quite dizzy. I want to go home Sean. Could you please take me home?" Emma asked.

"I can't take you home Emma. Your mom will kill you if you come home drunk." Sean said. If Sean brought Emma home drunk then her parents would think he had something to do with it. He had disappointed her parents enough in the past and didn't want to disappoint them again. "You and Manny are more than welcome to crash at my place tonight and then I'll drive you home in the morning."

Emma knew Sean was right. Her parents would ground her for ages if she showed up in this state. "Ok. We'll stay with you. Can you help me up? I don't know if I can walk very well."

Sean opened the van door and stepped out. He helped her to van door and then he stood in front of it. "Climb on my back." he said. "I'll carry you."

She put her arms around his neck and he lifted her on to his back piggy back style. She let him carry her all the way to the car.

They approached the vehicle and found Manny and Jay sitting on the hood engrossed in an argument. "….like I care what you think." they heard Manny say to Jay as they approached.

"Man, I said take care of her….not harass her!" Sean said to Jay as he set Emma to the ground. She found her feet and managed to stand up without falling over.

Jay threw his hands up in the air for being blamed for starting the argument. "It's not my fault she's a feisty one tonight." 'Why am I complaining? I like them feisty!' he thought to himself.

Jay got off the hood of the car and helped Manny off as well. "Party over?" Jay asked.

"Yeah….I'm going to take the girls back to my place. Would you be able to drive us?"

Jay nodded and unlocked his car. He helped Sean get Emma in to the back seat and then he helped Manny in the front. A few minutes later they were in front of Sean's apartment building. Both of the boys got out of the car and helped the girls into the apartment.

"Do you want to come in and chill Jay?" Sean asked his best friend.

"Nah, Man." Jay answered. "As much fun as it sounds, I don't feel like being on puke patrol tonight. It's the first time those two have drank so guaranteed one of them is going to hurl and I don't want to be around to see it." Jay turned around and headed towards his car.

"Thanks for the drive man." Sean called after him.

Jay turned back around with a smirk on his face. "Have fun with your girl tonight Cameron. Do something I would do."

Sean smiled and shook his head at Jay and headed back in to the apartment.

Emma covered Manny up with a blanket on the couch. Manny had passed out as soon as they had gotten in to the apartment. She knew Manny would most likely be passed out until the morning. She walked in to the kitchen where she found Sean going through the fridge.

"You hungry Em?" Sean asked with his back to her . There wasn't much food in the fridge. The only thing he really had to offer was some chocolate milk.

"No. I'm good." she replied. He turned around and their eyes met under the dim light in the kitchen. They stared at each other for a moment lost in each others eyes. Emma moved towards Sean. He reached out and ran a hand through her hair and then placed it on the back of her neck. He started to close the gap between their lips when they were startled by a thud coming from the living room.

"Owww…" they heard Manny say from the other room. They both rushed in to see what had happened. "I think I just rolled off the couch." she said holding her head where she had hit it while sitting on the floor.

Emma checked Manny's head and it seemed to be fine. She pushed the coffee table to the other side of the room and placed the pillow on the floor. "Why don't you sleep on the floor." Emma suggested to Manny. "That way you don't have to worry about rolling off again."

"You two can share my bed." Sean offered to the girls. He hated to see any of his guests have to sleep on the floor.

Manny opened her mouth to accept when Emma interrupted her by speaking first. "I don't think it would be safe for Manny to sleep on the bed. Afterall, if she rolled off the couch who's to say she wouldn't roll off the bed as well." Emma gave Manny a pleading look for her to agree to sleep on the floor. Emma didn't want to give up her chance of alone time with Sean. Emma had been waiting for this night for most of the summer.

Manny understood Emma's look. "Floors fine." she said as she curled up with the blanket and rested her head on the pillow. She immediately fell back asleep.

Sean grabbed Emma's hand and led her down the short hall to his bedroom. He left the main light to his bedroom off and turned on the lamp beside his bed. He sat down on his bed and led her to sit down beside him. "Listen Em," he started. "Tonight didn't go exactly as I had planned. I'm sorry I was late and that Peter fed you alcohol." He continued to hold her hand and rubbed his thumb over her finger.

"It's okay Sean. It's not your fault that Peter fed me alcohol. I took it on my own….I just didn't know what it was." she said back to him. "I know tonight didn't start out exactly how we planned but that doesn't mean it doesn't have to end the way we want it to." Emma smiled at Sean.

"Are you saying what I think your saying Emma?" Sean asked smiling back at her.

"Yes, I am." she said. "Sean Cameron will you go out with me again?"

Sean answered her question with a kiss instead of words. He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips with all of the passion he could muster. She returned his kiss and opened her mouth allowing his tongue to find hers. He pulled her closer and gently guided her so she was laying on the bed and he was above her. Out of breath from the heated kiss, he stopped and looked at her.

"Wow!" Emma said aloud also breathless from the kiss.

"There's a lot more where that came from." Sean said. "You must be tired though, so for now, let's get some sleep."

Sean got Emma one his oversized t-shirts and he left the room while she changed in to it. He returned a couple of minutes later to find Emma asleep under the covers. He got in beside her and wrapped his arms around her. He gently kissed her head. "Goodnight Angel." he whispered. He knew he would sleep soundly tonight with Emma in his arms.


	14. Chapter 14

**Authors notes: Ok loyal readers...it's apology time. It's been two weeks since I've updated. :( I'm sorry. I was stuck with this story for a while. It wasn't coming to me. I have had a few revelations with it though over the last day or two and have figured out the rest of this story and also came up with an idea for my next story. Anyways, sorry about the wait and hope you enjoy!**

"Wake up sleepy head." Sean whispered in Emma's ear while tightening his arms around her. He heard her moan as it seemed to early to wake up.

"What time is it anyway?" she asked Sean. There was no light shining in Sean's bedroom window so she knew it had to be quite early.

"It's 5:00am." he whispered again while turning her body around so she was facing him. Emma gave him a confused look as to why he was waking her up so early in the morning. She had a pounding headache from the alcohol the night before and all she felt like doing was sleeping.

"I know it's early." he said quietly. "But we need to get you and Manny back to your house before your parents wake up."

Emma bolted straight up in bed in a panic. She had forgotten to call her mom to tell her she wasn't going to come home. If she didn't get back to her room before her parents noticed her any Manny were missing she was going to be in major trouble. She jumped out of bed and started pulling on her skirt from the night before.

"Calm down Em." Sean said as he noticed her trying to get all of her stuff together. "I'll get you home."

He went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of track pants and his signature hoody. "Here, wear this." he said as he handed the clothes to her. "It's a little to cold out for your mini skirt." He grabbed an extra set of clothes for Manny as well.

Emma went in the living room first and awakened Manny from her deep sleep on the living room floor. "Emma?" Manny asked confusingly. "Where are we and what am I doing sleeping on the floor?"

"It's a long story Manny which I'd be happy to tell you all about once we get back to my house." Emma said.

Sean came in from the kitchen and handed each of the girls a glass of water and a couple of Advil. They got their stuff together and headed out the door.

The walk to Emma's house was fairly quiet. The streets were bare and they only saw a few cars pass them on their walk home. Sean grabbed Emma's hand and laced his fingers in between hers. "I missed this." she said as she smiled at him.

"Me too." he replied.

A few minutes later they arrived outside the Simpson-Nelson household. They walked over to Emma's basement bedroom window which was still unlocked. Sean climbed in first so that he could help the girls in. Her room was dark. Sean planted his feet on the floor and gently guided both of the girls through the basement bedroom window quietly.

Just when they thought they were safe the light to Emma's bedroom flicked on. The three of them froze as Emma's mom rushed in to the room closely followed by Snake.

"EMMA CHRISTINE NELSON!" Spike hollered at her daughter. "Just exactly what do you think your doing coming in at 5:30am in the morning?"

"Looks like we're busted." Manny mumbled under her breath.


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors notes: Last chapter guys...**

"EMMA CHRISTINE NELSON!" Spike hollered at her daughter. "Just exactly what do you think your doing coming in at 5:30am in the morning?"

"Looks like we're busted." Manny mumbled under her breath.

"Look, mom, I can explain." Emma started.

"You better have a good explanation because from where I'm standing this doesn't look very good. It's 5:30 in the morning and your just coming in with friends." Spike said still fuming. Snake placed a hand on Spike's shoulder trying to calm her down.

"Mom, come sit down with me on the bed." Spike followed her daughter to the bed and sat down beside her. "We've always been honest with each other. So I'm going to tell you what happened tonight even if it's not going to make you very happy. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Manny and I went to the ravine earlier tonight….."

"The ravine?" Snake interrupted. "Em you've heard what goes on there! I can't believe you'd be that stupid to go."

"Snake!" Spike said. "Please just let her explain." Spike put her hand on her daughters and nodded for her to continue with her story.

Emma started the story again. "As I was saying Manny and I went to the ravine earlier tonight….." Emma explained to her mother the situation with Peter and how he gave her alcohol. She also told how Sean had showed up just in time to save her before Peter had a chance to do anything to her. "….and after we left the Ravine Sean took us back to his place and took care of us until we were in a better state to come home."

Spike looked relieved to find out that Emma was okay. "Oh Emma!" Spike said with tears in her eyes. "I'm just so happy to find out you are okay. We were just so worried when we came down here earlier tonight and found you and Manny both gone."

"I'm okay Mom…..just a bit tired." Emma said giving her mom a hug. She really had a great mom who loved and understood her.

"Why don't you kids get some sleep. We'll wake you up in a few hours and make a big Saturday morning breakfast." Spike said heading towards the stairs with Snake. She turned around to add one more thing. "Oh and Sean, when I say "kids" I mean you too. I'll leave some blankets out on the couch and you can crash there until breakfast."

"Thanks Mrs. Simpson." Sean said. He walked over to Emma and placed a single kiss on her lips before heading upstairs to crash on the couch.

After Sean went upstairs Manny and Emma crawled in to bed to get some more sleep. "So, Em..You and Sean in his bed last night! I want all the details!" Manny whispered excitedly.

Emma smiled to herself remembering how nice it had felt to have Sean's arms around her the entire night. It was their first "sleepover" and she knew it wouldn't be their last. "Not a lot to tell you Manny except that it's great being Sean's girlfriend again." Emma whispered back and with that they both rolled over and went to sleep.

A few hours later Sean awoke to an assortment of good smells coming from the kitchen. He was almost certain he could smell bacon cooking if his sense of smell wasn't betraying him. It confused him though because last time he checked vegetarians did not eat bacon. He got up off the couch to go check it out for himself.

"Morning Sean." Snake said to him as he flipped the bacon.

"Morning Mr. S." Sean said scratching his head. "Is that real bacon?"

Snake laughed. He knew Sean wasn't much of a vegetarian so he had went out earlier and picked up a package to cook some for him for breakfast. "Yes, it is real bacon."

Sean grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the kitchen table watching Snake cook and still trying to wake up. Snake abandoned the bacon and turned around to face Sean. "I know in the midst of all the drama this morning Spike and I didn't get a chance to thank you for taking care of Emma last night so I'd like to say it now. Thank you."

Sean shrugged off Snake's thank you pretending that what he had done the night before was no big deal. It meant a lot to Sean that Snake would thank him. Sean took a brief moment to think before he said what he had to say next. "I'm a different guy now Mr. S then I was last year. I appreciate you giving me the chance to prove that to you and Emma."

Snake nodded his head in acknowledgment. Realizing that breakfast was ready he asked Sean to go wake up the girls for breakfast.

A few minutes later Sean and the girls returned to the kitchen table. Spike, Snake and Jack had already sat down. They passed the food around and then all began to eat.

"So girls and Sean……..are you guys ready for school to start on Monday?" Spike asked making small talk.

"I'm dreading it." Manny answered quickly. "No offence, Mr. Simpson."

"None taken." Mr. Simpson said. "How about you Sean. What type of classes are you enrolled in this year?"

"I have another year of media immersion with you and then my regular academic classes. I am taking shop again this year and am looking forward to that." Sean said.

"How about you Em?" Spike asked Emma.

Emma thought over the past summer. She had started the summer dating Chris and had ended it by dating Sean. She was excited to walk back in to Degrassi on Monday morning with Sean on her arm. She had everything she had ever wanted. "Yeah mom, I'm ready for school Monday." Emma said smiling. Little did she know that Grade 10 would be the most drama filled school year yet.

**The End...(well sort of).**

**Authors notes: Sometimes when we start writing a story we think we know exactly how it will turn out. Sometimes you get to the end of it and it's went a completely different way then you had planned. I feel like I had accomplished my purpose in this story...i wanted to show what happened in the summer in between Grade 9 & 10 for Emma. But this story isn't over yet. How will things be different for Emma in Grade 10? Some of Emma's biggest story lines happened in Season 4 and I wonder how things would have happened if Sean and Emma had been dating then. Would the shooting still have happened? What other drama would have happened? I am writing a sequel called "Timing changes everything." with the main focus being the shooting. I will start posting the new story within the next couple of days so I hope all of you will tune in for that. I would like to thank you all for reading this story and for everyone that reviewed. It's because of you guys that I write!**


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